Antiquing and Some Crafting

On Sunday, Jer and I went for a fall drive to pick out some pumpkins. We stopped at one of my favourite antique malls and got so caught up in all the treasures to be found that we ran out of time and missed our pumpkin farm date. Oh well, there will always be next year!

It's been a while since I found so much Pyrex, so I let myself go a little crazy! I had been looking for the daisy casseroles for a long while, so I even overpaid a little for them. The rest were priced very well.

I've also started a couple new craft projects recently, of course without finished up the ones already on the go! That's just how I roll.

Stripey knit baby blanket - going to have so much fun weaving in these ends, but it sure is cute!

I've re-started this one about 6 time and am still not happy with it. It looks better the further I get in it, so I'm not sure if I'll keep going for a while or re-start again now. It's hockey season again, so I imagine I'll have a lot of crafting time while Jer and I watch!

Jane Market Bags

I got Alicia Paulson's Jane Martket Bag pattern the very day it came out, but somehow it ended up being moved to the bottom of my sewing basket and I never got around to making one. While oogling fabrics on Etsy a while back, I found the perfect combinations for one of these bags. They arrived two days ago and I quickly got to work!

This first bag uses Scandi Owls and dots, both by Kokka. The dots fabric had two strips of grey and white dots and one of pink and red. I love the way they go together! The lining fabric was something I already had in my stash.

The second is made from Barn Sparrows by Sevenberry and Forest by Hokko. The handles and lining are Mod Circles by Dena Designs.

It was a super easy and quick pattern to make, and these are so versatille. The huge square bottom is great, perfect for shopping. I just love them! Perfect timing too since my reusable grocery totes are in poor shape. I'll just have to keep an eye on these since my last homemade totes were swiped right out of my cart!

A couple days ago I met up with another member of the Pyrex Collective (link in my sidebar). I'm toning down the Pyrex collection, and she was looking for one of the sets I was getting rid of. She mentioned she was missing a bowl for one of her Friendship sets, and I had a double even though it was in poor shape. I passed it along anyway so she could have a stand-in until she finds one in better shape. She brought me the larger white Turquoise Gooseberry bowl! It isn't in the greatest shape, but it's gorgeous. I couldn't believe she would do that for me. What a sweetie! I have met some really great people through Pyrex collecting, which is another reason why I enjoy it so much.

A Happy Mail Day!

After around four years of searching, the elusive Blowing Leaves has joined my little Pyrex family. I know I said I was downsizing, but there's always room for those special pieces..right? I hadn't even seen a Blowing Leaves on online auction sites, but a flickr friend gave me some searching tips and a recommended search of 'mint Pyrex' popped up during one of my rounds. I decided to click, just for the heck of it. A few pieces down there was what looked like a regular turquoise 024. I clicked anyway, and found this beauty for less than $10! I couldn't believe it. It's not in perfect shape, but I don't care at all. I was so excited to get it in the mail today, I literally hugged it. Oh, dear. Sometimes I really do get way too into this Pyrex stuff.

I also got this Friendship round casserole lid. I've been really loving the opaque lids lately, especially Friendship and Daisy. I was never crazy about them before, but I guess my Pyrex tastes are changing.

The sweet little owl fabric also arrived today. I'm thinking of turning it into a Jane Market Bag. I bought this pattern the first day it became available, but haven't actually made one yet. All of my resuable shopping bags are pretty worn out so I could definitely use a couple new ones. I have no excuses now! Well, except for this evening. I'm off to our second Sparks meeting. Yes, I am a Sparks leader now! I have been wanting to get back into Guiding for years, and am finally doing it. Cookies anyone??

Butterprint and Produce

Butterprint is probably one of the most popular Pyrex patterns, and for good reason. It is definitely high on my list of favourites, and this past week I was lucky enough to add some orange butterprint to my collection.

I love the way the three colourways look stacked up together.

While I was outside photographing Pyrex, I picked what was probably the last of the fresh garden produce for the year.

There's a tomato plant that went crazy, full of green tomatoes, but with the frost coming on shortly, I'm not sure any more will turn red.

Teeny Tiny Pyrex

A while back I found out about miniature Pyrex dishes that re-ment was including in some of their sets. For those who don't know, re-ment is a company out of Japan that makes miniatures, mostly dishes and housewares. I was lucky enough to find a set of re-ment 'Pyrex' cinderella bowls, a fridgie, and a casserole dish on ebay. I love how detailed they are.

Earlier this week a friend of mine found a set of Barbie 'Pyrex' in her basement and immediately thought of me. They are sized slightly differently than the re-ment ones, but they go so well together!

Primary fridgie dishes! I no longer have my yellow primary fridgie so I made up a turquoise/red/yellow set for the photograph.

And primary mixing bowls.

Another Pyrex find..

This Salad Bowl, with the infamous fetus. Do you see it?

Summer Antiquing

My mom and I have been planning a trip to Corning, NY for quite some time. Off to the Corning Glass museum, with lots of thrifting and antique mall stops along the way. Last year our plans were put on hold when these sweet babes needed a place to stay and a family to love them until they were ready to find homes of their own. This year we were all set to go when I realized that my passport had expired back in May and there was no way I could get it renewed before my parents set sail across the world. 'Doh! Still wanting to do something special, we went on a mini-trip to the Southworks Antique Mall in Cambridge, ON.

This was our first time visiting, and we were greeted with aisles upon aisles of wonderful antiques! I find stepping into places like this very overwhelming, my eyes having no idea where to go first. There are just so many things crammed into every corner of every shelf. That's treasure hunting for you!

I find every antique mall has its own unique feel. Most usually have a little bit of everything, but some cater more to rustic antiques, high brow antiques, or retro pieces. This place definitely had a retro feel to me. Everywhere I looked I was finding vintage suitcases, Coca Cola memorabilia, old hair dryers and curler sets, toys, linens, mid century furniture, and kitchenware. Of course there were booths dedicated to other types of antiques and re-production antiques as well.

The Pyrex pickings were slim, but I did find myself lucky and came away with the orange bowl to complete my Friendship Cinderella bowl set. The smallest bowl was one of my very first Pyrex finds, so this set was a long time coming. As silly as it is, I love the satisfaction of completing a set.
I also came away with a case full of old thread spools, a set of 4 mid-century dining chairs, and some more blue glass jars. Sadly, this cupboard didn't. I love it!

The Corning, NY trip? There's always next year, right?

Finding

My year in Peterborough ended on Saturday. The year was a struggle in many ways, but I am trying to take away the good and leave the bad behind. My beautiful apartment was carefully taken apart and moved back to Toronto. Into a basement, and anywhere else it will fit. You see, this year I am house sitting. I have trimmed down a lot, donating, sharing, trading, and posting on Etsy once again, but I will admit that there has been a teensy bit of thrifting too. I haven't had much time for it in many months, so it is hard to resist when I do get the chance.

I finally got that sewing box I had been dreaming of. I found it at an antique mall, full of vintage notions and trims, a steal at less than $10.


Right now I am looking forward to a special GTA Pyrex meet-up/trade a few of us are planning for early next month. There may be some antiquing too. I cannot wait!

A Little Crafting and A Lot of Pyrex.

I have been hoping to get some crafting done on my break, inbetween homework breaks of course. When I saw these ornaments by The Sometimes Crafter, I knew they'd be on my list. Mine didn't turn out as pretty as hers, but it was a good first try with teeny tiny patchwork squares.

Unfortunately I did not leave enough room around the edges to finish it properly, but I think I'll just zig-zag stitch around to finish it off. My next try will hopefully be a little nicer!

Earlier that same day, my mom and I decided to pay a visit to some of our favourite Antique Markets. I haven't been since the summer months, so there was so much to take in. Aisles and aisles of Pyrex, oh my!

I did come away with some goodies, though I left wishing they would split up that black/white Gooseberry cinderella bowl set. I'm missing the #441.

Some new dots, golden tulip, friendship, mod kitchen, and golden poinsettias, and a fun day to top it off!

Fridgie Straps

A while ago we cleared out the Tupperware drawer and started using glass for food storage instead. We find that it's not only safer, but it lasts a lot longer. My vintage Pyrex collection was put to use, especially the refrigerator dishes. They're cute, fun, and great for storage!

In a few months time I'll be living in Peterborough during the week, and I began thinking about food transport since I will often be bringing up leftovers with me. I didn't want to turn back to the Tupperware, but the lids on my fridgies only sit on top. There is nothing to secure them. I decided to sew up some velcro straps to hold them together during transport to avoid food spilling out.

Of course, this only works with solid food. Soups and liquids will still leak out the sides. For those I use mason jars or a thrifted ceramic lunch container with a silicone lid. I've tried some of those glass tupperware containers with the plastic lids, but I've found that most leak too.

The straps were very quick and easy to make. I sewed up the straps just like I'd sew up a purse strap, and then sewed a strip of velcro on each end. The straps for the small and medium fridgies are 18 inches long, with almost 5 inches overlap. The strap for the larger fridgie is 24 inches long with about 5 inches overlap. I used 4 inches of velcro on each strap to ensure a good hold, but less length and velcro could be used. This is a great project for using up those fabric scraps. I ended up with a collection of fabric strips and edges left over from old projects, so I dug into that for this one.

What would be even cuter - vintage fabrics that coordinate with the dishes. I'm picturing one of my flickr friend's vintage fabric collection for this. Amazing.

My mom asked why I didn't just use an elastic band to hold the lids on. I guess I could have done that, but this is a lot more fun!

A Week of Pyrex.

My mom and I have always been very close. I'm lucky. She was very strict when I was young, but as I grew older she loosened up and we grew closer. We've shared many special hobbies over the years, giving us something to do together. This ranged from something as simple as going on walks together every evening, to redecorating, to going to dog school classes together with Lola. This past year we would attend church sales, holiday bazaars, and antique fairs together, and more recently she has come on many of my Pyrex runs. She has seen how much fun the hunt can be!

This past weekend, mom went up to cottage country (I'm so jealous, I love cottaging) and did some Pyrex shopping in the amazing antique markets they have there. It was so sweet of her to bring me back something, and I loved that she had so much fun doing it. She was telling me stories of how two other women were searching the market for Pyrex and it turned into a little friendly competition of sorts. In the end both parties ended up walking away with lots of goodies. My uncle, who's cottage she was visiting, did think she was a little crazy for buying so many 'old dishes', but she had fun doing it.

My Pyrex collection is getting a little out of hand, filling up two entire cupboards. This morning was spent packing up books into boxes to clear a shelf for bowls. If they were my books I would be donating them since they are never used, but since it's not up to me they are going into the basement storage closet until their true owner comes to pick them up (hopefully soon! I hate to see books not being appreciated).

I am going to have so much fun arranging and re-arranging that shelf! I bet this sounds silly from a non-Pyrex lover's perspective, but I'm sure you can understand that we all have our things. This one happens to be very useful - when I cook or bake I have so many dishes to chose from! I can even colour coordinate! Okay, that was only half-serious, but I do think food always looks better served in pretty dishes.

And who can argue with a pink patterened bowl? Not me!

I am grateful.

Thrifting Day.

Rummaging through thrift stores, antique shops, church sales, bazaars, flea markets, yard sales, and any place of the sort, is one of my favourite pastimes. There are so many interesting things to discover. Things that someone has discarded or passed on. Being a Pyrex junkie, this bodes well for me since it means I can hunt for my beloved Pyrex and not break the bank. Plus, it's much more fun than buying online! I often stumble upon other things too.

Like these plates! I'm not sure what they are, but they have the bumpy bottoms that Glasbake dishes have. Searching online hasn't brought up anything. In any case, they are super cute and how could I go wrong for $2 for four plates? EDIT: I've found out these are by Federal Glass. It's a pattern called Chalet.

Now on to the Pyrex! I did very well today, finding three Pyrex dishes in excellent condition. I already had the small Shenandoah casserole dish, but I wanted to photograph them as a set. $2

One thrift store near me always seems to have English Pyrex on their shelves. I've been there three times, and all three times I've found something. I first got two Vine casserole dishes, and then this casserole dish, and today I found this Chelsea casserole dish. $3

Butterprint! This is one of my favourite patterns. $3

I also picked up this set of Betty Crocker recipe cards. Some of the recipes look really awful, but some are really cool. $2

I also picked up that woven mat for 99 cents. It reminded me of the braided rugs my great uncle had in his cottage. He had one in every single room, including the bathroom. I always wanted one of my own.

Thrifting is about saving money, re-using, and re-purposing - being 'thrifty' - but in some cases it helps fuel our hobbies too. For $12.99, that's okay. I feel as long as I actually use the things I buy (which I do, the Pyrex gets cycled in my kitchen), and I enjoy it, it's fine to have more dishes than necessary. In my book, you can never have too many pretty dishes!